


A Friend In Need

by lostangelkira



Series: Love At Last [2]
Category: Black Dagger Brotherhood - J. R. Ward
Genre: Comfort, Gen, friends - Freeform, together again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-24
Updated: 2013-02-24
Packaged: 2017-12-03 12:10:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/698105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostangelkira/pseuds/lostangelkira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While out on the town, Butch and Vishous get jumped by lessers. When Butch gets hurt and V seeks out shelter from the sun, they run into someone completely unexpected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Friend In Need

*Author's Note*

This is set a month or so after 'Together At Last'. The thought of Butch and Jose finally crossing paths again is the inspiration for this work. No sex this time.

*Butch*

“I don't know, Butch,” Vishous muttered, tugging at the lapels of his new, tailor made suit in the color of buttery cream. “This doesn't....seem like me.”

“Stop it,” Butch said, slapping his hands. “You look fantastic and if we're taking the girls out to the opera next week, you can't wear the Vishous standard.”

“Alright,” V said, stopping to look at his reflection in a store window. “It does hang well. And the color's good, though I would've preferred black.”

“Color is a good thing sometimes,” Butch replied, tucking his hand around Vishous's waist and pressing a kiss to his throat.

V blushed heavily, looking totally adorable. He still wasn't very used to public displays of affection.

“You can't hide from the world, love,” he purred to him.

“I can't help it,” Vishous said as they started walking down the street.

He froze before he could whisper to Vishous, his lesser radar going off.

“Where are they?” V asked.

“Behind us,” he growled, the two of them ducking into a nearby alley.

Butch hissed low in his throat as the lesser shot at him, hitting him in the lower leg. A knife came at him and it cut him pretty deep in the side. Vishous was quick to disarm and disable the bastard, dispatching him with the same knife that had came at him. There were another ten that came for them and they were killed and absorbed quickly. Butch took a few more hits in the process.

“Easy, nallum,” Vishous said softly, easing him to his feet, “I've got you.”

“Shit,” Butch groaned, “The sun...it's going to be rising any minute now. The car...it's too far away.”

*Vishous*

Vishous noticed a simple two story house across the street. He could see a cellar door. He only prayed that it had little to no windows and a rusty lock. He practically dragged Butch across the street. He eased him down to the ground when they got to the cellar.

“Thank Jesus for little miracles,” he grunted, snapping the weak, steel chain that held the cellar door shut.

After throwing open the doors, he picked Butch up and got him down the stairs just as the sun rose. V hissed in pain as he reached up and shut the cellar up again. Surprisingly, no sunlight penetrated through the cracks in the boards. Butch hobbled over to a moth eaten sofa just to the left of the cellar door, clutching his side.

“God damn assholes,” Butch growled. “They just had to knife me tonight. I'll need to call my tailor. Again.”

“At least you're ok,” Vishous replied, pressing a clean handkerchief to the knife wound.

“Look who's talking, he quipped. “You managed to kill at least eight slayers without getting so much as a drop of blood or muck on your suit.”

Vishous laughed a little at that. He couldn't help himself; he kissed Butch briefly. The click of a gun being cocked was the next thing he heard. Just as he was about to pull a dagger, Butch took hold of his arm.

“Don't V,” he whispered.

“Why not?” he growled.

“That's Jose next to you. My old partner.”

*Butch*

“Holy hell,” Jose muttered, dropping the gun as Butch looked up at him. “Butch...what..how,”

“I'll explain everything, buddy,” he replied softly. “But I need some help.”

He hissed under his breath as he moved, the knife wound letting out a yell. Jose went into cop mode, looking him over briefly.

“Do you need an ambulance?” he asked.

“No doctors, no ambulances,” Butch told him. “Your wife still sew up the occaisonal idiot?”

Jose smiled a little at that. “She still does me when it's not down to the bone.”

“Help me upstairs,” he said, V helping to get him to his feet.

“Honey, what's...,” Butch heard Maria, Jose's wife started to ask.

When she saw him, she dropped the cup she was cleaning, bouncing and skittering off to the side.

“Maria, get your sewing kit,” Jose told her as they went across the kitchen and down the hallway.

Butch hissed and stepped back again as they tried to cross a patch of sun coming from the picture window in the living room.

“Maria!” Jose called, “Get the shutters on the window!”

“Thank you,” Butch panted, as Jose led him to a windowless floor level bedroom.

Vishous helped steady him as Jose peeled his suit jacket and shirt off him. He left Vishous to get his pants off, leaving him in his boxers. Maria then came in and put towels under Butch's leg and behind his back, to keep blood off the bed. She was quick to clean and stitch him up. Jose left and came back a few minutes later, just as his wife was finishing bandaging him.

“All of the windows are covered,” Jose said.

“Good,” Butch grunted as he propped himself up on the pillows behind him.

“Now start talking,” Jose said, the gun coming out again.

Vishous pulled his own weapons, growling low in his throat.

“Enough, V,” Butch said softly. “Put the weapons away. Please.”

“What the hell happened to you?” Jose asked. “Man...I thought you'd killed yourself until I saw your apartment was empty.”

“I fell down the rabbit hole,” Butch replied with a laugh. “Me and Beth.”

“Beth?!” Jose asked excitedly. “You've seen Beth? Is she ok? Where....”

“Whoa, slow down, Jose,” Butch said, holding up a hand. “I can't answer every question at once.”

“Sorry, man.”

“I know, Jose. To start with, the reason I disappeared is because of Beth and that suspect I'd tried to bring in.”

“The one that nearly strangled you?”

Butch nodded.

“That night when I begged you to let me talk to her...I found Beth in her apartment, face down, barely breathing. She told me to take her to him. I didn't want to, but I thought she was going through withdrawl.”

“But it wasn't withdrawl, was it?” Jose asked.

Butch shook his head.

“That night...I found out that vampires are real,” Butch said.

“What?”

“Later that night, Beth came up from the room that the suspect had took her down into. She was more than fine. She'd transitioned into a full on vampire.”

“So you're saying Beth...is undead?”

“No,” Butch said, “Just a different species. A vampire is essentially human until they turn twenty-five. Then they go through a transition where they drink the blood from a vampire of the opposite sex and become an adult. When I found out about them, they couldn't let me go back to what I was doing. So I stayed with them.”

“And...how exactly did you get six inches taller and built like a brick shithouse?” Jose asked, his tone suggesting he already knew the answer.

“Well...that night I found about all this, I met a female.” He couldn't help but smile. “Her name is Marissa. I was captured and interrogated by the enemy. They're called lessers; de-souled humans that an evil entity called the Omega created to eradicate the vampire race. They...tried to infect me with their evil. They ended up turning me into what's called the Destroyer. I destroy these things permanently. And that suspect that Beth was with? She married him. His name is Wrath, king of the vampire race. He also happens to be my distant cousin on my dad's side.”

“Your dad's side?” Jose asked.

“My mom had an affair with a surgeon that we believe is a half breed vampire. One that most likely didn't transition since he traveled to and from here and Boston,” Butch replied. “Because they found I had a vampire relative, they turned me. Then I married Marissa.”

“How did you find out he was a surgeon?”

“You remember Dr. Manuel Manello, chief of surgery?” Butch asked him.

“Yeah. He did a fantastic job rebuilding my knee when I shattered it,” Jose replied.

“He's my half brother,” Butch said. “And he's now married to Vishous' twin sister, Payne.”

“Wow,” Maria said as her husband moved closer.

“Open,” Jose said, sitting close to him.

Butch complied, opening his mouth and showing off his fangs. Jose poked and prodded. Vishous growled the whole time.

“What's his problem?” Jose asked as he sat back.

“Vishous is a little...possessive of me,” Butch told him. “A month ago...we...came out to each other.”

“Wait. I thought you said you're married to Marissa?”

“I am. And Vishous is married to a surgeon named Jane. But we also love each other. We...have a strange marriage. We're not only married to our mates, but we're also married to each other.”

“You look damn good, Butch,” Maria commented, leaning in and patting his shoulder. “And I'm glad to see you're finally happy.”

“Thank you,” he purred, taking her hand in his, kissing the back of her hand. “I've missed you guys. I wish...”

“It's ok, buddy,” Jose interrupted. “I get it.”

Butch's stomach growled. He couldn't help but blush. “Mind making me a little chow?”

“Not at all,” Maria said with a smile. “How's steak and eggs?”

“Sounds fantastic.”

“Rare with scrambled eggs and toast?” she asked.

“You know me too well,” he said with a grin. “And some coffee please.”

“And what about you...Vishous?”

“Just a bacon and cheese omlette with some strong coffee, please,” he said, pulling out his phone.

Maria nodded, her and Jose leaving them alone.

“Butch...I've got to call this in to Wrath and see what our options are. You know that we can't scrub their memories at this point.”

“I know,” Butch sighed. “I really don't...”

“It's not up to us at this point, unfortunately.”

Butch nodded. Twenty minutes and a phone call home later, Maria brought in their food....and a basket of homemade cheese danish and a large pot of coffee.

“Thank you,” Vishous said, bowing to her.

“Please sit, get comfortable,” Maria told him.

Vishous did as he was told, taking his boots off and getting into the bed against the wall. She set up trays across their legs and set their plates before them, the rest in a small basket between them.

“I'll come back and check on you boys in a little while,” she said, heading out to join her husband.

“I can see why they're your friends, Butch,” Vishous murmured. “They're good people. Not to mention tight in the head.”

They cuddled together, feeding one another. They polished off every bite, even the danish.

“Damn,” Vishous said as he handed over the trays to set on the floor. “Fritz could learn a thing or two from her about danish.”

“You should try her tamales,” Butch laughed, easing down onto his back, exhaustion setting in.

When Vishous eased down next to him, Butch shifted onto his side, his back to Vishous. V purred softly as he put his arm around Butch, nuzzling the back of his neck. Exhausted and knowing they were safe, Butch was able to fall asleep.

******************

The next evening, Butch and V enjoyed some lasanga with Jose and Maria, Butch feeling better than ever.

“You both need to come with us tonight,” Vishous said as he washed his plate for Maria, placing it in the strainer.

“Where?” Jose asked.

“To our home,” V replied. “Wrath, our king, wants to have a word with the both of you, concerning what you now know of our world.”

They both nodded.

“Would you mind giving us a little time to change?” Maria asked.

V shrugged. “Go ahead.”

Thirty minutes later, they were piling into the Escalade and heading out towards the mansion; Jose in his police dress uniform and Maria in a very nice green and black cocktail dress. The ride was quiet, but it wasn't awkward. It was actually kind of comforting. As they pulled up to the mansion, Jose and Maria gaped.

“This place is amazing,” Jose said quietly as they walked into the foyer.

“It's a great place to live, truly,” Butch said as he led the way upstairs.

The entire household was gathered in the study waiting on them. Maria huddled close to her husband, clearly nervous. Jose remained calm, like always.

“Introductions are in order,” Wrath said, as he stood up from behind his desk, grabbing hold of George's lead. He came around and stood in front of the desk.  
Butch led them up to him.

“Everyone, this is Jose de la Cruz,” he said, “and his wife, Maria.”

Everybody said hi, no hands offered to shake.

“Jose, Maria, this is my family.” He gestured to Wrath. “This is my cousin and the King of our race, Wrath and his seeing eye dog, George. To his left, we have Beth, who you both know from before. Next is Rhage and his mate, Mary. Don't let the good looks fool you, the guy is an utter ham and dork.”

“Speak for yourself, cop,” Rhage said with a grin, holding Mary close.

“Then we have the twins, Phury with his mate Cormia, and Zsadist with his mate, Bella, and his daughter, Nalla.”

“What a lovely little girl,” Maria said, brave enough to actually approach them.

Five year old Nalla hid behind her mother's leg, peering around it with her wide, bright yellow eyes.

“How old are you?” Maria asked.

“Go ahead, Nalla,” Z said softly, coaxing Nalla out from behind Bella. “It's ok.”

“Hi,” Nalla said softly. “I'm five.”

Maria held out her hand and Nalla shook quickly, then ran around and hid behind her father. Everyone laughed.

“She's so precious,” Maria told Z and Bella as she stepped back. “You must be very proud.”

“We are,” Bella replied with a smile.

“Next, we have Rehvenge and his mate Ehlena. Rehvenge is Bella's brother. Then we have Tohrment and his mate, Autumn. Standing to Wrath's right is John Matthew and his mate Xhex. John is Beth's half brother. Next to him is Qhuinn with his mate, Blaylock and with them is the Chosen Layla, mother to Qhuinn's daughter, Holly. Then we have Payne, Vishous's twin with her man, Manuel Manello.”

He then smiled as Marissa came up to him, giving him a kiss.

“And this...this is my mate and love of my life, Marissa.”

“It's a pleasure to meet all of you,” Jose and Maria both said with a smile.

“Now that we have that out of the way,” Wrath said. “We need to discuss the matter of the two of you knowing about us. Honestly, five years ago, I would've killed you. Now, I'm inclined to invoke an old, old law of ours.”

“Which is?” Jose asked.

Butch could tell he was nervous, but he'd been his partner long enough to see it.

“There is a law in our books that states I can allow certain humans to know of our world while still remaining within the human world. But it requires you to not only swear your silence to me, but to our deity, the Scribe Virgin, mother of our race.”

“We'll do it,” Jose and Maria said in unison. “We're not losing Butch again. He's such a good friend to us.”

“Very well,” Wrath said with a nod. “Kneel before me.”

Both of them sank to their knees.

“Jose, remove your jacket and shirt,” Wrath instructed.

Butch took his jacket, shirt, hat and gloves from him, draping them carefully on one of the chairs in the room.

“Bow your heads.”

They complied.

“Do you swear to aid any of mine own race and own blood in a time of need?” Wrath asked.

“I swear,” they both said.

“Do you swear to keep silent about mine own race and blood to those of the human world?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear all of this on your own lives, knowing that breaking your silence will send you unto the Fade?”

“I swear.”

“Vishous, you do the honors.”

He could tell Jose was a little nervous as V bent down, dagger drawn.

“To bind you to your word,” Wrath said as Rhage knelt down and held Jose's right arm still, “We must mark you in our language as a friend, a 'Keeper of the Silence'.”

Vishous was mercifully quick with the carving of Old Language characters signifying their role to the vampire race. Both of them, while wincing, didn't so much as shout from the pain. When V was done with both of them, the Scribe Virgin appeared in the room, beside Wrath. The vows were repeated by her and they swore them to her. She then placed her hands on the carvings in their arms, searing them into the skin, like a brand. When she was gone, Vishous rubbed an aloe ointment over the brands, easing the pain.

“Welcome, friends of mine own blood,” Wrath said with a smile. “Now, I imagine Fritz will have lunch on the table in about a half hour. Both of you are welcome to join us.”

“Thank you, Wrath,” Jose said with a smile as he put his shirt back on. “We'd love to stay.”

“Cool,” Rhage said. “You any good at pool, Jose?”

“Better than Butch,” he said with a grin.

“I've gotten better since we last played,” Butch replied. “How's about two on two?”

“You got it,” Beth added. “You and Rhage vs. me and Jose.”

“Way to go, cop,” Rhage said, hitting him playfully as they headed down to the billards room.


End file.
